The present invention relates to automatic car wash systems, and more particularly to automatic car wash systems that are able to process more than one vehicle at a time.
Automated car washes account for a significant portion of the car wash industry. Automated car washes can be typically grouped into two primary systems that control throughput; namely, conveyor or “tunnel” systems and rollover or “in-bay” systems. Conveyor systems can be broken down further into two types: attended and unattended. Attended conveyors can be broken down further into three types: full-service, exterior-only and flex-serve.
One type of attended conveyor system is the full-service conveyor car wash, which includes one or more attendants who greet the patrons at the entrance to the car wash and directs them into a waiting room while the attendants drive the vehicles onto the conveyor of the car wash. One or more other attendants are present at the exit end of the car wash and drive the vehicles off the conveyor to a drying area, where the vehicles are hand dried and prepared for the patrons.
The second attended type is the exterior-only conveyor. Exterior-only, like full-service, has one or more attendants at the entrance. Exterior-only differs from full-service in that the customer remains in the car and is directed by the attendant as to how and when to engage the conveyor system. There are also variations upon the full-service and exterior-only systems, such as flex-serve systems, that can sometimes blur the lines of division, but all are attendant dependant.
The third type of conveyor system is the unattended conveyor car wash, which utilizes visual and audible instructions to assist the driver in positioning the vehicle on the conveyor. The driver stays in the vehicle during the wash process, and must place the transmission of the vehicle in neutral so that the conveyor can move the vehicle through the car wash. Unattended conveyor car wash systems are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,432,974 and 5,901,398, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Attended conveyor car washes have several disadvantages. The main problem associated with the full-service, exterior-only or flex-serve conveyors are their dependence upon attendants to load vehicles onto the conveyor. Labor and the associated costs make attended conveyors more expensive operationally. In addition, most conveyor systems limit the hours of operation as the expense of attendants makes evening, night, and early morning operation unprofitable due to limited demand. Attended conveyor systems often close or ask attendants to take the day off when there is questionable weather to minimize labor expenses. If the weather is misinterpreted or changes from bad to good and demand becomes present, these conveyor locations miss out on revenues and providing customer satisfaction.
Unattended conveyor car washes also have disadvantages. The customer/driver must negotiate onto the conveyor via traditional driving methods of acceleration, steering, and braking, but then suddenly abandon those tendencies by placing their vehicle in neutral and allowing the conveyor to move their vehicle while avoiding the temptation to control the situation by steering, braking, or the like, thus resisting the realization that they have lost control. In another example, if a driver ignores or does not understand the positioning instructions, the driver may attempt to drive the car over the conveyor, which may possibly damage the vehicle or the car wash. Other cars being washed may also be affected, as the wash process must be stopped until the offending car can be removed.
Rollover or “in-bay” car washes are almost always unattended and utilize similar entry systems to the unattended conveyor car wash system. Typically, rollover car washes are much slower in throughput due to the fact that only one vehicle can be washed at a time. Some rollover car washes include instructional lights, signage, and audible tones to assist the driver in positioning the car within the car wash. Several patents relate to this aspect of the car wash, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,241, which is incorporated herein by reference. The car wash typically includes a wheel detector that the vehicle must engage or drive upon in order to activate the main wash process. Once the vehicle has been washed, more instructional lights, signage, and perhaps audible tones direct the driver to exit the car wash. After the first vehicle has exited the car wash, the next vehicle in line is directed into the car wash for processing. Washing mechanisms and devices are described by a number of U.S. patents, such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,255,695 and 5,447,574, which are incorporated herein by reference. While most conventional rollover car washes provide a gantry for a vehicle to drive under that also houses the washing and drying equipment, there are alternative arrangements. One such alternative is described in published patent application, U.S. 2002/0144366A1, which describes a car washing machine that comprises two moving gantries that travel back and forth over a stationary vehicle to wash and dry the vehicle.
Unfortunately, rollover car washes also suffer from some of the same disadvantages as conveyor car washes in that a driver who becomes confused may inadvertently drive past the wheel stop or photo eye sensors in the rollover car wash, which delays the wash process and may damage the vehicle and/or the car wash. There is a need to provide a car wash system that improves the throughput of the vehicles without sacrificing wash quality. There is also a need to improve the transmission of information to a driver so the driver can position and maneuver the vehicle through the car wash system.